The power of perverted appetite has been dwelt upon quite fully in the preceding chapter. Now it remains to be shown how the tyrant may be conquered. For it is possible for the appetite to be brought fully under the control of reason and conscience. The reclaimed drunkard, and those who have been emancipated from the slavery of tobacco, tea, and coffee, may shout greater victories than can the general who leads his troops through the most successful battles. An inspired proverb reads, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.” It may be said with equal truth and force, He that conquers perverted appetite is truly greater than he that conquers armies.
Difficult as the task may be, a morbid appetite can be restored to a normal condition. As it is by indulgence that appetite gains the mastery, so it is only by rigid abstinence that it can be conquered and made man’s servant. As in the one case indulgence is the cause, and the debasing rule of appetite the result; so in the other case abstinence is the redeeming cause, and natural appetite (controlled by reason and conscience), health, and happiness are the glorious result. But the man of strong habits, who undertakes to grapple with and conquer his appetite for fashionable indulgence, may as well understand at the very start that he has a hard battle to fight; and he should count the cost, lay well his plans, and nerve himself for the contest.
And there is a very important fact which we wish here to state for the encouragement of those who feel the need of reforming in habits of life, and who at the same time dread the difficulties in the way, and the suffering they may have to endure. It it this: Proper198abstinence will soon give them complete victory; and when this is gained, when simple and natural habits have been established, the delights of taste and the pleasures of existence will far exceed the so-called enjoyments found in a gross and unnatural life of hurtful indulgence.
When the drunkard leaves his cup, he suffers inexpressible physical and mental agony until by continued abstinence and proper habits the fire dies out of his blood and brain, and nature restores order. This accomplished, the reformed inebriate has lost his love for liquor, and feels that he is a man again. It is not to be questioned that the man who satisfies his depraved cravings for whisky, feels a momentary pleasure in indulgence; but the enjoyments of existence, with him whose habits are natural and healthful, are almost infinitely greater than with him who is ruled by morbid appetite, and who surrenders to the momentary pleasure found in its gratification.
Here are facts of the greatest importance; and they are not only in harmony with natural law, but are sustained by the happy experience of many a reclaimed drunkard. It is difficult to make the drunkard, even in his soberest hours, see and feel the force of these facts. His friends may wish to help him; but he alone must fight the battle with appetite, or he can never enjoy the victory. The higher powers of his mind are benumbed and enfeebled, having been surrendered to the rule of appetite. He, however, decides to make the effort to reform, and abstains from liquor for a few days. He is in agony; and feeling no assurance that, if he perseveres, the period of his suffering will be brief, he is in danger of yielding to the erroneous idea that abstinence dooms him to a life-long period of mental and physical agony. Oh to get across this, to him, impassable gulf! The fields of delight which lie beyond, he cannot now see; but when fairly across, he may shout victory in the midst of the natural and healthful pleasures of an almost new existence. This is one of the greatest triumphs that mortal man can199achieve, and one long step toward heaven. Yet such a victory can be won.
What has been said in the case of drunkenness is equally true of tobacco inebriety. The appetite for tobacco will continue so long as the tobacco poison remains in the system. When the system has been freed from tobacco by abstinence and hygienic treatment, the appetite will cease. Boys have a natural dislike for tobacco, but this they overcome by its use. When their blood becomes thoroughly poisoned, the collision between nature and tobacco ceases. Completely eradicate tobacco from the human system, restore the taste to a natural and healthful condition, and tobacco will be as offensive to its emancipated slave as to the youth before he took the poison into his blood.
Let no one try to overcome the appetite for tobacco by the long, tedious, murderous process of “leaving off by degrees.” Victory is seldom, if ever, gained in this way. Total abstinence is the only sure course. Hygienic treatment is of great benefit to those who find this a difficult task. In order to obtain a speedy and certain victory, the poison should be taken from the blood as soon as possible. Water treatment will do this at a rapid rate. We have left tobacco invalids packed in the wet sheet forty minutes, and when they were taken out the scent of tobacco so pervaded the room as to be sensible to the taste, and the sheet itself was discolored.
What has been said about the liquor and the tobacco habit is true, in the main, in the case of those addicted to the use of tea and coffee. Total abstinence is the only remedy. When these habits are overcome, and restoration, so far as possible, to natural conditions takes place, whisky, tobacco, and tea and coffee sicknesses, in their many forms, will cease. For example, there are thousands of women in our country who once drank strong tea to cure the headache, and it did give them temporary relief; but at the same time it laid the foundation for more severe headache. Now they use neither tea nor coffee, and can200bear the joyful testimony that when they had by abstinence overcome their desire for tea, their headache also disappeared.
Those on our side of the question, who have passed through the struggle against the clamors of morbid appetite, and have gained the victory, can appreciate this view of the subject. Those on the other side must pass over to us, and work out their own experience before they can fully understand the matter.
And right here is where the subject of hygienic reform meets one of its greatest obstacles. It is difficult for those under the control of appetite to see anything in the reform but privation and starvation. They sit down to a hygienic dinner,—without flesh-meats and highly seasoned gravies,—where all the food is, so far as possible, in its natural state, and are disgusted with its tastelessness. They pity us who live upon this diet, and, judging by their own condition of taste, are grieved that we are starving ourselves. But the very dinner they despise, we enjoy with the keenest relish, and do it liberal justice.
To us who have become accustomed to a simple, unstimulating diet, it would be painful to sit down to a fashionable dinner and partake of highly seasoned flesh-meats. The very spices, salt, vinegar, pepper, mustard, and pickles that would delight a fashionable taste, would be very unwelcome to ours. The great difficulty in this subject is, that those who differ with us cannot understand the matter fully until they have, through their own experience, come all the way over to our side of the question.
To all hygienic reformers I would say, Live up strictly to the convictions of your own enlightened mind. Be not led into indulgence by the entreaties of friends. Live the reform at home; and when you go abroad, carry it with you. Live it, and at proper times, in proper places, and in a proper manner, talk its principles. Never let the opposition or the kind entreaties of friends, gain ground on you. Ever hold on your way, and by all201proper means labor to impress those around you with the importance of the subject.
A few words to those who are making changes: If you make them all at once, be sure to make a corresponding change in your mental or physical labor. If your circumstances are such that you cannot greatly lessen your labor for a while, or spend a few months at a sanitarium, you should, in matters of diet, make the changes gradually. But do not forget to change. As you prize health and the favor of God here, and a happy existence in his presence in the next world, turn from the violation of natural law. Let it be your study and constant effort to bring your habits of life more and still more into harmony with the laws instituted by the beneficent Author of your being.
THE GOSPEL OF HEALTH.
“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” This text presents two grand themes, — overcoming, and the victor’s reward. The magnitude and importance of the work of overcoming are measured by the value of the reward presented. The human mind cannot conceive a reward of greater value than that here offered. It is to be exalted to the throne of the Son of God, when he shall reign King of kings and Lord of lords. Christ will then wear his kingly crown, and the overcomer will also wear a crown. Christ will reign, and the overcomer will reign with him. This reign of peace, of exaltation, of glory, in which the overcomer is to participate, will continue throughout the ceaseless rounds of eternal ages. And all this glory is presented to us as an inducement to engage earnestly in the great work of overcoming.
Christians generally have a very indefinite idea of what it is to overcome, in the sense of the text. With few exceptions, they seem never to think that it has reference to self-control, and especially to the complete control of appetite. Hence, professing Christians eat fashionable viands, smoke, chew, and snuff tobacco, drink tea and coffee, become gluttons and drunkards, and thus defile the temple of God, simply to gratify depraved appetite. And many of these Christians, doubtless, regard the work of overcoming as very nearly summed up in mastering their embarrassment in speaking and praying in public, and saying grace over their fashionable tables. God pity them!
The text, however, gives a definite idea, in plainest terms, of what it is to overcome,—“even as I also overcame.” Men and women are to overcome as Christ203overcame. When we are able to comprehend the temptations and victories of the Son of God, we shall have a definite idea of what it is to overcome. The subject of Christ’s overcoming may be discussed under three propositions:—
1. The Son of God did not overcome on his own account. He was not a sinner. He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” The divine Son of God was so far a partaker of our nature as to feel our woes and suffer for our sins, yet in him was no sin, and his overcoming was not for himself.
2. The work of overcoming on the part of the Son of God was on account of our sins. The temptations he suffered and the victories he gained, were to enable him to succor mortal men and women suffering under the weakness of the flesh, and beset with strong temptations. The apostle speaks definitely on this point: “For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” “Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” “For we have not a High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” The divine Redeemer was subjected to the fiercest temptations, passed through the most fearful struggles, and gained victories the most glorious, that he might redeem man from the ruin of the fall, the weaknesses of the flesh, and the temptations of the devil.
3. As the Captain of our salvation, Christ has led the way in the work of overcoming. And in order that he might succor the tempted, he has been tempted in all points as we are. This was not for his own benefit, but for our good. Therefore our temptations are, in kind,204just what the Son of God endured; and the victories which we must gain in overcoming, are, in kind, just what the Son of God experienced when he overcame. This proposition is most fully sustained by the clause, “as I also overcame,” found in our text. Having clearly before the mind the idea that the divine Redeemer, as the Captain of our salvation, has led the way, subjecting himself to the very temptations and self-denial which his followers must experience in order to be redeemed by his blood, let us consider the temptations of the Son of God, and the circumstances under which he overcame.
Immediately after his baptism in Jordan, “Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil.” The record of another evangelist reads, “Immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan, and was with the wild beasts.” Another evangelist gives the facts of the temptations of Christ in still another form, “Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing.”
The Holy Spirit led the Son of God into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. This was a part of the great plan necessary to the salvation of sinners. The temptation must occur as truly as the crucifixion, the resurrection, the ascension, or the second advent. The crucifixion of Christ and his intercession for sinners are subjects of very common and popular discussion in the pulpit and by the religious press; but the temptation of Christ in the wilderness, though holding an important place in the great plan, is passed over as having little more significance than if it were an accidental occurrence, —as if Christ chanced to be in the wilderness just then, and Satan seized upon the opportunity to annoy him. But mark well the strong expression of Luke: “Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.”
There in the wilderness, wild, barren, and dreary, the Son of God endured the first of the three great temptations that represent the leading temptations to which the fallen race is exposed. For want of space, I can here dwell only on this first temptation, which relates to appetite. Satan urged Christ to work a miracle by changing stone to bread to satisfy the pangs of hunger after the fast of forty days. Christ resisted the temptation. The Saviour’s long fast, the temptations under the peculiar circumstances, and the victory gained, were not only a part of the great plan by which Christ became the Redeemer of the lost race, but they were designed to present an example full of encouragement to those who have still to struggle against the power of appetite.
The grandest thought in all the range of revealed theology is, that Christ in his life on earth was tempted on all points as mortal men are, in order that he might be “able to succor them that are tempted.” In that long fast in the wilderness, our Saviour endured the keenest pangs of hunger, in order to save sinners lost by indulgence of appetite,—that his arm might reach to the depths of wretchedness and weakness, even of the poor glutton and the miserable drunkard.
The Redeemer, both divine and human, as an overcomer in our behalf, stood in the very position where Adam’s failure plunged the race into ruin. Christ endured the very test under which Adam failed. He took hold of redemption just where the ruin began, and succeeded in carrying out the plan.
The subject is truly grand. At thought of these things, there kindles in the soul the most ardent love, and the deepest reverence for our all-conquering King. He overcame on our account. He leads the way in suffering, mental agony, victory, and triumph, and bids us follow in self-denial and everlasting glory. We hear from him by way of Patmos, saying, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”206Mark well these vital points on this subject:—
Christ did not overcome on his own account, but for us.
His temptations and victories were to enable him to succor his tempted people. Therefore,—
His temptations were in kind just what his people must meet and overcome.
The victory of our triumphant Head over the most subtle temptations during his forty days’ fast, and the glorious promise of reigning with him in his throne, on condition that we overcome as he overcame, establish the fact that one of the highest attainments in the Christian life is to control appetite, and that, without this victory, all hope of heaven is vain.
Is there suffering and self-denial in the work of overcoming? The Christian will joyfully welcome these, in view of heirship to the eternal throne and the crown of glory. “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.” “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”
REDEMPTION.
To redeem is to purchase back from sale or from slavery; to deliver from the bondage of sin or its penalties. God proposed to redeem the fallen race through the sacrifice of his Son. This great redemption is threefold: First, from the condemnation and practice of sin; secondly, from the grave; and thirdly, from the disgrace of the fall.
1. Redemption from the condemnation and practice of sin. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” The apostle doubtless refers particularly to the moral code; yet the transgression of any law established by our beneficent Creator to govern our actions, is sin. Said the angel, referring to the Redeemer, “Thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins.” The mission of the Son of God was to save man from, not in, the transgression of law.
Man fell under the power of appetite. The Redeemer set his people an example of self-denial, and he says to them, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” But what of those who profess to be followers of Jesus, but are really drunkards and gluttons? How does the Master esteem those who gratify appetite without regard either to expense or to the physical and moral influence of such a course upon themselves and their children? Ministers and people, clergy and laity, chew, smoke, and snuff the “filthy weed,” simply because it produces, for the time being, a pleasant sensation. They pollute their breath, their blood, their clothes, their dwellings, and the atmosphere of even their places of worship, to gratify morbid taste. Slaves to tobacco! The moral and intellectual in servitude to the animal! The Protestant, church-going people of America pay out more money annually for208tobacco, tea, and coffee, to poison their blood, than for the gospel of Jesus Christ, to purify their lives. Professed Christians will yield to the clamors of appetite for luxuries and indulgences which stupefy their higher powers and strengthen the baser passions, and at the same time they will talk piously of the self-denial and cross of the Christian life! This certainly falls but little short of a burlesque upon the Christian religion. In the words of Charles Beecher, “O unhappy church of Christ! fast rushing round and round the fatal circle of absorbing ruin! Thou sayest, ‘I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked’!”
“Know ye not,” says Paul, “that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” Again the apostle appeals to the church at Corinth in these words: “Beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
To those, and to those only, who by self-control turn from a life of excess, and choose a life of self-denial and purity, will the atoning blood of Christ be applied. It is said of the numberless hosts of the saved, that they “washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” The robes of character were not given to them for the occasion, to hide their sins. No; they washed their robes.
Some of the rich blessings which it is the privilege of Christians to enjoy in this life are mentioned in these stirring, triumphant words of Paul: “That ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness; giving thanks,209unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son; in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
And the beloved John declares the message that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” The Redeemer, in overcoming, set an example of self-control to his followers, and then closed his life of disinterested benevolence by death on the cross. Here is seen his matchless love for sinners. Those who deny themselves, who overcome as he overcame, and by faith wash their robes of character and make them white in his blood, may sing of redeeming power and love here, and they will find eternal ages none too long to swell the happy strain, “Worthy, worthy is the Lamb!”
2. The redemption from the grave, by the resurrection to immortal life, of all who are in this life redeemed from the condemnation and practice of transgression, is the second stage in redemption. It is in this life that we obtain a moral fitness for the next. The change to immortality is not a moral change; it is simply an exchange of the corruptible body for one that is incorruptible. This second stage in the Redeemer’s stupendous achievement of man’s redemption, is expressed by the apostle thus: “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.”
3. The redemption of the righteous from the disgrace of transgression completes the work of the Redeemer. The redeemed are then on higher and safer ground than that on which Adam stood before his fall. In the estimation of God, of Jesus, angels, and all created intelligences in the universe, they stand the same as if our first parents had not disgraced themselves and their children210by yielding to the power of appetite. The Redeemer has borne their sin and shame, and has accepted, in his own sinless person, the punishment due them. Man’s failure to form a righteous character was complete. Jesus took man’s place, and endured the test; his success in working out a righteous character in man’s behalf, is as complete as was Adam’s failure. To those who, in a life of self-denial and self-control, have by faith followed their triumphant Head, the righteousness of Christ is imputed. In their Saviour the redeemed lose all their shame and disgrace. Not only will they then stand complete in the purity of their own robes of character, which they have washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb, but they will shine with the brighter luster of the divine righteousness and eternal glory imputed to them from their adorable Redeemer.